For the sake of a soul
by thecrimsondagger
Summary: The sequel to my story 'Bound by blood and friendship'. What would you do to bring back what had been lost forever? For Aya, she'd go through hell if it meant she could have Helix by her side again, to put right all that has been wrong since her death. Rated M for violence, language and sex in later chapter. Genres may change as the story progresses. Aro/OC and Caius/OC pairings.
1. Chapter 1

_The stars above seemed so bright as they lay side by side upon the grass, hair splayed out and cascading into a pool of crimson and ebony. Their eyes stared up ,simply enjoying the moment and everything seeming perfect, as Aya pointed towards the different stars that caught her eye, laughing as Helix rolled her eyes and smiled warmly, her voice relaxed._

_" You know They say that you can read your future in the stars. that your whole destiny is mapped out and all you need to do is look to see what is yet to come"_

_Helix gave a scoff of amusement at the notion behind her own words and how Aya's eyes widened in wonder before seeming to squint at the twinkling dots of light in the sky, desperate to see if it was true as Helix lifted her arm and flicked her middle finger upwards._

_"Yeah, like a bunch of twinkly clusters of broken down meteors and dust particles can tell me how to live my life. Destiny's a total bitch, and we both know that there's only two bitches in this world that I'll ever listen too. Myself and you"_

_Aya couldn't help but laugh as Helix nudged her gently, the pair grinning at each other before Helix looked away once more, her eyes brimming with sadness as her voice became serious and forlorn._

_"Aya... I miss you"_

_Aya wanted to cry as the words fall from the demon's lips, eyes still refusing to meet her own. Nothing hurt more than the knowledge of what had been lost in the pursuit of peace. Only in her dreams would she ever see Helix again, only in the short hours of sleep would she ever get to hear the voice of her sister once more._

_"I miss you too"_

_"But... You killed me"_

_It was then that Helix chose to look at her once more, body manoeuvred seemingly by some unknown force as she was pulled up and crucified before Aya's eyes, blood oozing from the gaping wound upon her chest as dead eyes stared down at the other woman._

_"You abandoned me... Left me alone in favour of your precious vampire! I'm DEAD because, whilst you forsook me, I never gave up on you! I told you Aya, I'd die a thousand times for you... But it only takes the once, doesn't it, there's no second chance at life to set things right once you're dead"_

_Aya tried desperately to reach out to Helix, beginning to scream as she seemed to move further and further away, as a pale hand gripped around her wrist and pulled her backwards, turning her to face the face of Sebastian, snarl twisted and menacing as he only added to the pain that she was feeling with his own venomous words._

_"That Saint's ash blade was meant for you! You should have died that day, not Helix... You sacrificed her, Abandoned her because you couldn't see the pain she was going through in favour of a _love _you barely even knew_ _. You threw her onto the crucifix of your own selfish desire for peace and now have the audacity to cry for her passing!"_

_Her screams grew louder as she looked back towards Helix, the blood splattering down to the floor, thick and congealing as Helix's eyes began to close, her voice weak as she nailed the final dagger into Aya's broken heart._

_"I'd still be alive... If I'd never known you"_

* * *

**_'How will I start tomorrow without you here?  
Whose heart will guide me? All the answers disappear!  
Is it too late? Are you too far gone to stay?  
Best friends forever, should never have to go away!_**

**What will I do? You know I'm only half without you!**  
**How will I make it through?**

**_If only tears could bring you back to me,  
If only love could find a way...  
What I would do, what I would give if you  
Return to me, someday, somehow, some way...  
If my tears could bring you back to me...'_**

Jane frowned as she pushed the door to Aya's room open, watching as the young wolf tossed within her bed and uttered words too slurred for understanding. There were tears streaked down her cheeks and Jane had to resist the urge to wipe them away as she moved closer. She knew all too well what had caused distress in the mate of her master, knew all too well the pain that still lingered within as whimpers and sobs turned to screams of horror.

Jane panicked slightly as she debated whether or not to wake the young wolf, remembered with clarity the last time she had dared to wake the other from a nightmare. Aya may have looked weak and fragile to most but she could pack a punch when needed too or, as Jane had discovered, when awoken without permission.

"Helix!... Sorry... My fault"

Jane took an unneeded breath as she made the decision and placed a cold hand against Aya forehead, knowing that master Aro would punish her for not stopping the nightmare for fear of a punch.

"Aya, It's OK, it's just a dream"

Eyes shot open as quick as the fist that lashed out, Jane screaming as she failed to dodge completely and gained a painful knock to her own forehead, feeling the crack within her marble flesh as Aya blinked at her in confusion that quickly faded to sadness.

"Jane?... I'm sorry, I-I was..."

Each night was always the same. Her dreams were haunted by the face of Helix, fooling her for the first half into believing she would finally get to enjoy one final moment with the other before breaking her heart all over again with the truth. There would never be a second chance to be together, to have a drink together and forget the world around them.

Helix was dead and had been for a year. But the dreams never went away and nothing was like it had once been. She rarely smiled any more, eyes staring like empty orbs as she attended her meetings with the leaders of each race. She sat as chairman of the peace council, her Aunt Will representing the children of the moon, Aro representing the vampires and Balthazar as representative for the demon realm.

But Balthazar rarely showed his face to the meetings, and Aya knew that he would never quite recover from his own loss. Helix had been his only heir, his niece and adopted daughter. No amount of time would heal the void that he felt at her death.

Aro was the only possible candidate for the position he held. Caius had barely spoken since the loss of his mate, locking himself away within his room and staring at the pendent she had once worn with pride, a token of their eternal friendship from Aya, the only item truly left to remember her by. Nothing more than a shell, the vampire cared little for anything that happened around him and paid only minimal attention to the peace that Helix had sacrificed her life for. Aya knew deep down that a part of him would always blame her for the misery he suffered.

And Aya herself? She felt like a husk of the woman she had been. Gone was the smiling, confident young woman that had tamed the nightmare of the demon realm, and in her place stood a woman who had lost the will to care any longer. Aro did his best to spark her interest, but nothing ever truly worked any more.

**_'I'd cry you an ocean if you'd sail on home again,  
Waves of emotion will carry you I know they can!  
Just let love guide you and your heart will chart the course,  
Soon you'll be drifting to the arms of your true north!_**

**Look in my eyes, you'll see a million tears have gone by,**  
**And still they're not dry!**

**If only tears could bring you back to me,**  
**If only love could find a way...**  
**What I would do, what I would give if you**  
**Return to me, someday, somehow, some way...**  
**If my tears could bring you back to me...'**

"Aya? Are you alright my love?"

The two woman looked up as Aro's voice drifted from the doorway , his face portraying his concern as he moved to sit beside her upon the bed, giving Jane a brief glance of dismissal and thanks, smiling sadly as Aya clutched to him for comfort, to anchor herself back into reality.

"I saw her again... Helix"

"It has been a year... You must let her go and allow her memory to rest in peace... She would not want you to suffer like this."

Aya swiped a hand down her face, eyes trailing towards the top draw of her dresser. She still kept the letter that Helix had asked Jane to deliver to her, still cherished the final words that were written upon the paper that was still stained with the tears she had shed each time she had read it.

"I know she wouldn't... But each night I dream that she blames me for her death, blames me for how it all ended"

"You know that Helix would never have thought such a thing. She loved you like a sister, more than words could have given justice too. She chose to die so that you would live and realise the dream that you had once shared"

Aro held his beloved closer as fresh tears began to fall from her eyes and sobs wracked her body once more. He hated to see her like this, so broken and unlike the woman he had first met in the throne room. He missed the eccentric wolf princess, confident in herself and exuberant with the belief she would have her best friend by her side forever. How cruel fate could truly be.

"I just miss her so much... It feels like someone's ripped a chunk from my heart"

He listened as she continued to sob once more, moving carefully to retrieve a small picture frame from the surface. He frowned as he looked upon the photo, at the two young women as they smiled back up at him, making peace signs and looking for the world like they would never know heartbreak.

But life changed and, with one dead and the other mourning her loss, Aro doubted he would ever see that smiling face upon his love again.

After all, there was no second chance at life after death.

**_'I hold you close and shout the words I only whispered before  
For one more chance, for one last dance  
There's not a pain that I would not endure_**

**If only tears could bring you back to me,**  
**If only love could find a way...**  
**What I would do, what I would give if you**  
**Return to me, someday, somehow, some way...**  
**If my tears could bring you back to me...'**


	2. Chapter 2

There were days where he would have happily destroy the simple pendant that lay within his palm as he sat upon the ramparts of the highest tower of the Volturi castle, days where he wanted nothing more than to crush it within his palm and be done with the final memory that haunted him of his fallen love. To forget the memory of her flaming hair and coal black eyes as they stared him down with defiance. To simply let go of Helix and the memories of his poor treatment of her, to finally allow her the peace in death that she had never been able to find in life.

But he could never quite bring himself to do it. To destroy his only token of her, to erase her from his existence completely would be a disrespect to a woman that had always deserved his respect and love. He had pushed her, tormented her and broken her heart with his actions whilst she had been alive, and now there would never be a chance to make up for his mistakes.

"She'd call you a jackass if she could see you now"

Caius couldn't bring himself to turn and face the woman behind him, the only other who could understand his pain , to see the anger and hatred within her eyes that was present only when looking upon him. There was a time that he wouldn't have cared for the feelings of another, but it was for that reason that he had lost the only thing that could ever have mattered, stolen the best friend of a woman that had done him no true wrong. Destroyed the hearts of more than just himself. Deep down, he knew that Aya blamed him solely for the death of Helix, if he had not been so blind to his own feelings then the demon would never have left in the first place and would not have needed to die.

But she was correct he thought with a sad smile, pained by the knowledge that Aya would always know his fallen mate better than he ever could. Helix would have rolled her eyes and called him a jackass for appearing so sentimental, the demon herself not always very good at showing her true feelings.

"I simply needed a moment with her memory. That is all"

Aya frowned as she moved to sit beside the vampire, unable to look at him either when she knew that she would see only despair equal to her own. They had both changed with the events of one year ago, whilst Aya had seemed to lose all warmth and joy, Caius had lost his fire. He said that he had only wanted a moment, but all he seemed to do these days was sit and stare at the pendant. He never attended peace council meetings and he rarely attending the meetings and trials of his own coven. Before, if someone dared to entice his rage, they would have found themselves missing a limb. Now, it was a miracle if they so much as got a half assed snarl.

"I guess I needed to do the same. The council meeting was dragging and nothing of major importance was being discussed, so I left it with Aro"

"Again?"

Her brow scrunched up at his comment, what was that supposed to mean? She'd only passed the post on to Aro in the... six meetings. She groaned at the realisation that it was becoming a bad habit to simply skip out of her 'dream come true' in favour of mourning.

"Yeah, again. I'm starting to think that my 'perfect Utopia' isn't so perfect after all... If I'd know that my dream was going to carry the price of a life I cherished with it, I would have been a lot more careful about what I wished for"

He nodded, a vague show of his agreement. Although he knew that Aya hated him, Caius couldn't help but respect the other in their mutual misery, a tenuous friendship forming between the two of them as they struggled through their days.

"Nothing is the same anymore. And nothing will ever be the same again... She took both our hearts with her when she threw herself in front of that saint's ash blade"

He nodded as they both fell back into silence, looking out over the ramparts and allowing their memories to wash them away for a few, precious moments. She was right, nothing would ever return to how it once had been.

* * *

"They are starting to really grind on my last gear"

A low chuckle echoed from the shadows as she turned away from the Demon sphere, the image of both Aya and Caius within the crystal as they stared into the distance, an irritated gleam within her eye as she folded her arms and awaited his reason for finding any of this funny.

"I warned you that they may not be able to see passed their own grief. You have put far too much faith into the heart of a wolf and the mind of a vampire, both creatures ruled by emotion and instinct"

"Well you weren't exactly bursting with good ideas you old goat!"

He stepped out of the shadows, raven hair that was flecked with a touch of grey slicked back as he patted down the fabric of his perfectly tailored suit. With his pale skin illuminated by the candles of the room, he looked sophisticated but deadly, just like he always intended too.

"Speak with respect Helix, I'm sure that your Uncle raised you better than that and I, as your father, would appreciate better behaviour"

She rolled her eyes and moved away from the sphere, slumping down against the wall as she searched her brain for any ideas on what she could do as her father continued to preen his suit and his hair. He really could be a vain prick when he had a new form to hide behind. Why did he even need a new form to hide behind anyway? It wasn't like she didn't know what he looked like behind the glamour and Hell wasn't exactly bursting with people, mortal or not, who would be afraid of his visage anyway. Helix could only attribute it, once again, to sheer vanity.

"I do have one idea. But it is whether you would choose to go through with it"

She raised an eyebrow as he moved closer to mutter in her ear, a mischievous grin forming on both their faces as he stepped back and awaited her decision. It was a little harsh, if not traumatic at best, but clearly leaving them to their own devices had done nothing and she was really getting sick of the self pit mourning party that both her best friend and soul chain were constantly holding.

"Deal. But what's in it for you?"

He didn't even bother to look insulted as he inspected his nails with a sly gleam to his eye. What was the point of trying to fool his own daughter anyway?

"It is simple really, I get to see dearest Aya again and also test the suitability of your soul chain. See whether he can make up for how he behaved before and prove that he is fit for you now"

She chuckled, moving to shake her father's hand on the deal and began to discuss the layout for their plan. It would not be easy and it would take a lot of team work between both she and Lucifer, but Helix knew it would be worth it in the end, even if just to see the look on Aya and Caius' faces once they were finally back together.


	3. Chapter 3

The halls of the castle were bustling as Aya surveyed the work around her. She felt detached from the preparations, absent from the event that once had meant so much.

"Aya, do you want the garlands here?"

Glazed over eyes shifted towards where Felix was stood as he positioned the garland within his hand against one of the pillars. What was the point in all of this anyway? The anniversary symbolised nothing good, only death and loss in her mind. She could remember a time when this would have been her idea of heaven, overlooking the first preparations of the one year anniversary of the peace contract. Stupid. Foolish pipe-dreams of a silly young girl who'd had her head in the clouds for far too long.

"Hang it where you want... I really don't care"

Felix frowned as he watched Aya turn her back to the room and continue to stare into nothingness. She wasn't the same girl anymore. He could still remember the young child of the moon that had fought against him in the streets of Volterra, alongside her best friend, laughing and causing mischief all the way even after they had been captured and brought before the three kings. The drunken night where he and the other guard had learned the truth of both girls identity and learned to see past circumstances of birth and creation.

That Aya was gone, her wild personality scattered upon the four winds with the ash of Helix Morte. But how could she be so dismissive of all that both she and the demon princess had achieved? Helix had died for this Utopia, in the knowledge that it would flourish and prosper in the loving hands of Aya. How could she abandon it and forget what it meant to them all?

"Aya... Helix wouldn't want you to feel this way. Her sacrifice was made so that you could realise the dream you both shared... By forgetting your dream, you're forgetting all that she truly stood for in the end. You're forgetting how much she loved you and, in doing so, you're forgetting her... She wouldn't want that"

The blood in Aya's veins felt frozen as she turned eyes filled pain and seething rage upon the vampire. Everything she had bottled up, everything that had been left to fester within the growing darkness of her own mind began to leak out through the eyes that glared holes through Felix.

"You know nothing about what Helix would have wanted! You know nothing about her at all beyond a fist fight in the streets and a drunken night when you got lumbered with babysitting us... So FUCK OFF if you think you can lecture me on how to mourn on the one year anniversary of her death"

She refused to look back as she stormed from the room after her outburst, ignored the calls of the lower guard as her feet moved of their own accord. The worry in their voices meant little, what did she really care anyway?

"... Aya..."

The voice fluttered through the stagnant air of the castle and tickled her ears, feet stopping dead at the sound. It was so faint, almost like a distant echo but Aya would have recognised it anywhere as she strained her ears once more as the voice uttered her name once more and broke her final defences.

"No... Not while I'm awake as well. Don't haunt me anymore, I can't take it"

"...Aya... Follow me"

The tears rolled thick down her cheeks as her legs found the strength to move once more, eyes catching flickers of flaming red hair, the owner always avoiding her vision as she followed it's phantom voice, whispering her name and uttering orders to keep up with its movements.

"Don't do this to me... I'm suffering enough. Please"

Her words were nothing more than their own hoarse whisper as she reached the phantoms final destination, her eyes unable to look up with the knowledge of where she was. The place where she had made her worst mistake, the highest tower that the castle possessed. Where Helix had first fled from the Volturi. Why had she been lead here?

Clenching her fists, Aya forced her eyes up to look at whatever the ghost had decided to taunt her with, sobbing harshly when her vision met with nothing but the open sky and she began to move closer to the ledge.

"I can't do this anymore. I'm hearing voices and following shadows... It's driving me mad"

Her feet found the ledge as she continued to look down upon the town below. What the hell was the point anyway? The way she had become was no use to anyone in the ongoing peace, she had no fire to keep it alive and Aro was left running the show in her stead. What good was she when she couldn't even find the passion for the dream she had once shared with Helix?

"Seriously? I throw myself onto a Saints ash blade to save your ass, and you think I'm about to let you throw yourself off a wall for my trouble? Oh girl, Felix was right, you are starting to forget about me"

She felt herself go rigid as she turned to face the voice, her nears going weak as she collapsed to the floor of the safe side of the ramparts.

The flaming red hair flicked in the breeze, coal black eyes glinting in the sun and pale blue skin decorated with all the tattoo's that symbolised her life as a demon. And as if to finally justify the identity before her, the poorly stitched wound, badly singed around the edges of the wound and bleeding slightly still marred the area that Sebastian had stabbed her with the Saint's ash blade.

"... Helix"

A flash of sharp teeth through the same old crooked grin that Aya had missed so much as she leaned against the entrance door of the tower and looked, for all the world, like the perfect demon princess.

"Did you miss me fuzz ball?"

* * *

**Hehe don't believe everything you see, for here be the tricks of demons ;) **

**What is Helix going to do or say? How has she come from the depths of hell to stand with Aya on the brinks of her grief? From here on, things are going to get messy for Aya and the Volturi. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and will continue to support this story as it builds it's foundations and reaches it's summary :)**

**Thank you xx**


	4. Chapter 4

"Did you miss me fuzz ball?"

Time seemed frozen as Aya looked towards the other woman, forgetting the pain in her knees from her drop as she tried to make sense of everything that she was seeing. Helix was right in front of her, bold as day and sending a smirk as she pushed off the door and began to move closer with a slight limp to her step, rolling her eyes as Aya pressed back against the rampart wall to keep distance between them.

"you're dead... No, no, no. I can't take it! I can't take it!"

"Damn it fuzz ball, get a grip! I haven't got that much time!"

Aya's eyes were beginning to water over as she took in the sight of Helix and processed her words as best as she could. Not much time? Nightmares had all the time in the world to goad their victims, especially once they leaked over into reality. But there was something different about this image of Helix, none of Aya's dreams had ever shown the wound in her chest like this, not had she ever had a limp to her step. The demon frowned as she followed Aya's eyes to her left leg, speaking with a weariness that Aya had never heard before.

"Look, just hear me out. I am dead, there's really no denying that, but I'm not one of your nightmarish manifestations come to haunt you... By the way, the fuck are those about? Am I really that scary?"

"Then what the hell are you!"

Helix crouched down with a slight groan, a pained gleam within her eyes as she reached a hand out to the side of her and swiped down towards Aya's skull, chuckling as the wolf flinched against a pain that never came before looking up in shock.

"Were you always this slow on the uptake? I'm dead Aya, but that's not to say that my soul has been destroyed completely. I'm in hell, at the mercy of my father... He's the reason the wound in my chest hasn't healed, and the reason my leg is damaged"

"But how if you're a ghost?"

Helix slapped a hand to her face in clear exasperation as Aya continued to stare. Why was the wolf being so damned oblivious?

"I told you Ii didn't have much time, cut the stupid questions and let me explain if you're not going to get your brain in gear!"

"Geez, death hasn't improved your manners, has it?"

Another harmless swipe to the head as Helix let out an irritated growl.

"I'm not a fucking ghost numb nuts! I've broken into my father's office to use his soul link to contact you. I can't step foot into your world at all unless I use this, I'm chained to hell and he's doing his best to live up to his reputation as a sadistic asshole! Now, if you'll give me a chance, I'll say what I came here to say"

Helix remained quiet for a moment, waiting to see if Aya would interrupt again before nodding in satisfaction and continuing.

"Thank you. Now listen carefully... You need to get me out of here, he's destroying the remnants of my soul slowly but surely and I can't stand up against him for much longer. The wound in my chest hasn't healed because he continues to rip it open and anoint it with holy water, my leg is busted because he had Cerberus chew on it when I back chatted him. I can't keep this up anymore Aya, please, you need to get me out of here"

Helix lifted the leg of her jeans gingerly, revealing deep bite wounds along the flesh of leg. Aya could feel the bile moving up her throat as she looked between the wounds and the projection of her best friend. There was nothing she wouldn't do to help Helix, but how was she meant to do it? She hadn't ever thought someone could be brought back from the dead before.

"How? How can I help you?"

"Speak with Balthazar. He knows more than he's letting on. Do whatever you have too to speak with the miserable old goat. I've got to go, my times run out and I'm running a high risk of being caught... Just move quickly, please Aya, I'm counting on you"

The vision was gone before Aya could get another word in, her mind shaken by what had happened but her heart beginning to beat with a new rhythm as hope began to blossom within where once it had been lost. There was something she could do to set everything right. All she had to do was get Balthazar to speak with her.

"Easier said than done... but I have to try"

She ran with all the strength she possessed, darting passed the guard she had not long ago ignored and heading for the only other people she knew who could help her in her new mission. All eyes fell upon her as she burst through the throne room doors, Aro surging from his throne and rushing to her side as she looked up at him with eyes that he'd almost forgotten. Eyes filled with excitement and joy. Had she finally overcome her giref?

"Aya, my love, what is wrong? You seem lively"

"Aro, you need to help me organise a trip to the demon realm"

His brows furrowed at her words. What on earth would she need to go to the demon realm for? Although the peace treaty had enabled the three races to cross into each other's territories, it was still a sore point for Balthazar. The demon lord was not quite ready to give up all of his seclusion just yet.

"Whatever for Aya?"

Caius was sat within his own throne as Aya's next words filled the air, his once glassy eyes filling once more and his body finding new strength to move as he stood and left the room, retreating back to his own quarters, Aya's words sending a wave of mixed emotions through his being.

"Balthazar might know a way to bring Helix back to us!"

* * *

Lucifer grinned wide as he looked down at his daughter with pride in his eyes, her own satisfied smirk painted across her lips as she moved away from the soul link. She truly was every inch his child.

"And so you've set the ball rolling. A shame, I never realised how good you were at manipulation, if I had then I'd have tried harder to convince you to stay. You may look like your mother, but you definitely have my talents"

She snorted as she moved passed him, a rough shove to the side knocking the older demon over slightly as she bit back her reply.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. The balls rolling but that doesn't mean it'll hit its target, Aya still needs to get the information from Balthazar and convince the others to follow her in this 'rescue' mission. If this fails, then I'm going to be stuck with you in this giant stink hole... Serious, can you do nothing at all about the smell of sulphur?"

"Aya was right, death really hasn't changed your manners. If you must know, I could change the smell if I wanted but I like it, it adds to the ambiance of being in hell for the souls who are sent to actually suffer here, unlike you"

With a disgusted grimace and a single look back, Helix left the office, her voice following behind her as Lucifer chuckled and called out to her, not wanting to lose the final word.

"You're a dick"

"I love you too, child of mine"


	5. Chapter 5

**_'Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes  
Five hundred twenty five thousand moments so dear  
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes  
How do you measure, measure a year?_**

**_In daylights, in sunsets  
In midnights, in cups of coffee  
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife  
In five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes  
How do you measure, a year in the life?_**

**_How about love?  
How about love?  
How about love?  
Measure in love'_**

Aya's eyes shone as she stared into Aro's shocked face, glittering with all the hope that her soul could manage as the ancient vampire before her attempted to form words. In all his years, Aro had never heard mention of bringing someone back from the dead.

"Aya... Helix is dead, nothing can change that my love"

Aya shook her head vigorously as she felt the excitement begin to bubble over and a large grin began to form upon her lips. She felt more alive now than ever before, more reason to keep moving forward if it meant she could set everything right once more.

"You're wrong Aro. Helix told me herself! She needs us Aro, she needs us now more than ever!"

The doubtful gleam refused to leave her mates eyes however as she began to panic that he would refuse her request. But how could she change his mind and show him she wasn't going insane with grief anymore?

"If you don't believe me than look into my memories"

She gripped his hands tight within her own, watching as his eyes glazed over and began to experience everything she had seen only moments before, the doubt quickly being replaced with wonder as he came back to himself and rested his forehead against her own.

"In all my years, I have never known a spirit as bold and tenacious as either yours or Helix's. But it seems even death cannot keep your friend from making her voice heard"

Aya laughed as he placed a kiss upon her head and ran a loving hand across her cheek. Even if this failed, at least he knew that Aya would be happy once more. But the question now was no longer whether he condoned this course of action or whether Aya could see it through. There was a single person missing from the throne room he noticed as he scanned his eyes around the room, the final person who's consent would need to be given.

"You have my support my love. But there is one person who's feelings must also be considered, he lost her too that day"

Aya frowned as she followed Aro's gaze around the throne room and found no sign of Caius. Whether she liked it or not, she'd need his help with this also and she knew that it would mean a lot to Helix if she could gain his support as well.

"I'll go and look for him now... This is his second chance as well I suppose"

**_'Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes  
Five hundred twenty five thousand journeys to plan  
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes  
How do you measure the life of a woman or a man?_**

**_In truths that she learned  
Or in times that he cried  
In bridges he burned or the way that she died_**

**_It's time now, to sing out  
Though the story never ends  
Let's celebrate  
Remember a year in the life of friends'_**

* * *

It took her a little longer to reach where she knew Caius would be than she would have liked, having ran to her own room first to collect something in her quest to convince the vampire to agree with mission. But she had arrived, and she sure as hell wasn't going to give up any time soon.

She took a deep breath as she stood before the large doors of his room, listening carefully for any sound from within before nearly jumping out of her skin as Caius' voice rang out from behind the door.

"I know you are there Aya. Enter"

The door creaked as she moved into the room, sighing at the sight of him sat at his desk, clutching the pendent like a life line and his head bowed in despair. Helix would have flipped her lid at the sight of him like this, weak and vulnerable.

"You know why I'm here... What's your answer?"

"My answer? To the notion of bringing her back to this life... No. I won't be a part of it. She suffered enough at my hands during those first months, I won't put her through the torment of being my mate again"

Aya felt the anger begin to bubble up within her at his words, gritting her teeth as she advanced slowly towards the desk and slammed her hands down hard, startling the man enough to elicit a snarl from his throat.

"You know what, Yeah, you were a complete dick the first time around. You made every day a living hell for her and found some messed up sense of enjoyment out of it for a little while but she loved you, still loves you because, quite frankly, Helix is at least seven messy buckets of fucked up herself."

She took a deep breath as she forced herself to calm down, memories of the first beating Helix had survived at the hands of Caius rearing their ugly head and making her anger even worse. Now really wasn't the time for that, not when she needed him on side.

"But you can change that. You know how you feel now and you have a chance to start again"

"Please Aya... Just let her rest in peace now. It was our fault she died in the first place"

He seemed to curl in on himself as he turned to face away from her, unable to take anymore. Why couldn't Aya just let it go? Helix had suffered enough in one life, what made the wolf think his mate deserved to suffer him in another?

"You think she's at peace Caius? She's not... She's still suffering, and only we can put an end to that. You think it was completely our doing that caused her death? We had a part in it, I don't deny that, but maybe there was something else that caused it... I'm sorry I kept this from you, but it was my last memory of her"

Caius turned back to her as she began to pull a carefully folded piece of paper from her pocket, opening it up and passing it towards him, watching intently as he read through it once and then read through it a second time before allowing it to fall to the surface of the desk, clutching his head within his hands looking for all the world like a man driven mad.

"She knew she was going to die... She planned everything so that we wouldn't question her motives. But then, if you've known this for a whole year, how have you coped? How have you managed to pull yourself through each day?"

The question hit her hard. She hadn't coped, she'd shut down and blocked her heart off from the world. But perhaps that wasn't what he was really asking. She moved towards the balcony, looking out over the gardens and refusing to look back as Caius came to stand beside her. Perhaps his question was why hadn't she given up all hope like he had done?

"Caius? how do we truly measure the passing of a year? The passing of a year since Helix first left the castle, left me and left you? Do we measure it in the truth of the prophecy that she learned of, or perhaps we measure it in the unshed tears you still hold even now at your late discovery of what she meant to you?"

Aya continued to look out over the night sky from the balcony, Caius stood beside her as he remained silent, nothing but a shell of the man he once was. She took a deep breath before going to continue with her words, he had asked her how she had gotten by, but how could she answer him honestly when it felt that she had truly lost her own sanity, clinging on for dear life out of respect for Aro throughout this past year. This was not a conversation that she wanted to be having at that moment, and she wished to god she had never shown him Helix's letter, her final words to convince the man to follow her to hell for the sake of the demon's soul.

"Perhaps it is the bridge to her own heart and soul that you burned when you chose to fuck that woman without any care for Helix's feelings? No... What I believe what measures this passing year since that awful day, is the memory of how she died... How I lost my best friend and sister... How she chose to give all that was left of her battered heart and mind, two things that you did everything in your power to torture, for a cause that I had accused her of never caring for. She had us all fooled with how cold she seemed in those final days, but it was still an act of love that Helix gave herself for... And that's how I've coped, with the memory of who she really was rather than what she pretended to be"

He nodded in agreement, remaining silent as he seemed to mull over her words and come to his own final decision, not meeting her gaze as planted the final seed within his mind.

"We have a second chance Caius, a rare thing to happen in this life. We can make amends for our mistakes. But to do it, we'll need you there too for when we find her... I think it would mean more to her if you were there to bring her home"

He swiped a hand over his face and, slowly but surely, a small smile began to come to his face.

"You have quite a way with words... I will join in your mission. I just hope that we won't fail"

"We won't fail. Something just tells me that we won't fail her this time"

**_Remember the love_****_  
_****_(Oh, you got to, you got to remember the love)_****_  
_****_Remember the love_****_  
_****_(You know that love is a gift from up above)_****_  
_****_Remember the love_****_  
_****_(Share love, give love, spread love)_****_  
_****_Measure in love_****_  
_****_(Measure, measure your life in love)_**


End file.
